Answer to Question #166292 in Management for Rebecca Essel

Question

Evaluate the culture of ASA by answering the following: 

How would you describe the culture?

How do new members learn the culture?

How is the culture maintained

Answer 1

ASA International is a global microfinance institution that provides affordable financial services to low-income entrepreneurs. ASA’s culture can be defined through its values, beliefs, practices, behaviors, traditions and interactions. Since its inception, the company’s aim was to bring about social change by improving the standards of living of underprivileged people. It has since then maintained its vision. The Group’s values include: financial inclusion, female empowerment and socioeconomic progress. ASA practices these values by providing working capital loans to poor people in society with no formal access to credit, especially women. By providing business loans, ASA enhances disposable income through entrepreneurship thus driving socioeconomic development. In its interactions among personnel and outside the business, ASA upholds the principles of integrity, respect and accountability.

ASA uses social performance management in its business model to help new members learn its culture as well as ensure older staff adhere to the culture. Being a global organization, social performance management enables effective regulation of operations e.g. new hires across all the offices in the countries where ASA conducts its business. The company maintains its culture through use of a code of conduct, existence of various policies, establishment of committees and use of social performance indicator tools. ASA’s Code of Conduct ensures personnel’s adherence with highest professional and ethical standards in dealing with stakeholders. The company has several policies to govern its practices e.g. anti-corruption policy, whistleblowing policy, nondiscrimination policy, health and safety policy etc. The Group uses the social Performance Indicators Tool “SP14” to assess its implementation of Social Performance Management and conducts clients and employees satisfaction surveys annually. ASA has established various committees to mitigate any work-related concerns and resolve client complaints.